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JOHN ANDRE, 





thiladelpiiia: 
J. B. LIPPTNCOTT COMPANY. 

1888. 




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Copyright N^ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSn^ 



JOH]^ ANDRE. 



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PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. 

1888. 






Copyright, 1888, by J. B. Lippincott Company. 




JOHN ANDRE. 



Andre, John, an accomplished British officer, chiefly 
remembered for his connection with the treason of the 
colonial general, Benedict Arnold (q.v.), was born in 
London in 1751. His father was a merchant from 
Geneva, and his mother (nee Girardot), though a native 
of London, was of French descent. Young Andr^ 
distinguished himself at the university of Geneva ; but, 
on his father's death in 1769, he returned to London 
and assumed the management of the business. Finding 
mercantile pursuits irksome, however, he procured a 
commission, and in 1774 joined his regiment, the Royal 
Fusiliers, in Canada. He was captured at St John's by 
the colonial forces, was exchanged the following year, 
and became aid-de-camp successively to General Grey 
and Sir Henry Clinton, receiving from the latter (in 
1780) the appointment of adjutant-general, with the 
rank of major. 

During the occupancy of Philadelphia by the British 
army under General Howe in 1777-78, Andr^ was a 
welcome guest in the most aristocratic circles of that 
city, and was a recognised leader in their social festivi- 
ties. He appears to have been particularly intimate in 
the family of Mr Edward Shippen, whose favourite 
daughter afterwards became the wife of General Benedict 
Arnold, and when in 1780 the latter obtained the com- 
mand of West Point, Andr6 was selected by Clinton to 



4 JOHN ANDRE. 

consummate the arrangements with Arnold for the be- 
trayal of that post. A meeting between the conspirators 
was agreed upon, and on the night of September 20, 
1780, Major Andre embarked on board the sloop of war 
Vulture, and proceeded to the rendezvous, some 35 miles 
up the Hudson, near the hamlet of Haverstraw. The 
place of meeting was on neutral ground in a thicket 
near the bank of the river, and thither at midnight, 
after remaining on board the sloop all day, Andre was 
conducted by a trusty friend of Arnold, one Joshua H. 
Smith, a resident of the vicinity, to whom the object of 
the meeting was known. Failing to finish their business 
during the night, they repaired in tlie morning to Smith's 
house, within the American lines, w^lieuce, at the termi- 
nation of their interview, Arnold departed for his head- 
quarters, having first furnislied Andr6 witli a pass 
through the American lines (as Mr John Anderson), and 
papers containing the plan for the surrender of West 
Point. Tiie fatal mistake of accepting and retaining 
these })apers on his person was in direct disobedience to 
Clinton's instructions. Concealing the papers in his 
stockings, Andie, accom[)anied by Smith and a negro 
servant, set out on his return to New York ; but Smith, 
fearing to attempt to get him on board the Vulture^ 
decided that the journey must be made by land. They 
crossed the Hudson at King's Ferry, spent the night 
within the American lines, and parted in the morning, 
Smith to return home, and Andre, mounted on a horse, 
to pursue his dangerous journey alone. As Andre 
neared the British lines, he was halted by an armed 
band. He declared himself a British officer on im- 
portant business, and demanded permission to proceed. 



JOHN ANDRE. 5 

To his consternation his captors (one of whom wore a 
Hessian coat) proved to be ardent partisans of the 
colonists, and although Andre finally produced the pass 
given him by Arnold, their suspicions were so thor- 
oughly aroused that they conducted him back within the 
American lines and delivered him to the military 
authorities. 

The papers found upon his person clearly established 
his character as a spy, and a military board convened 
by Washington declared that ^ agreeably to the laws and 
usages of nations he ought to suffer death.' Washing- 
ton approved the finding of the board, and Andr6 was 
sentenced to be hanged. At the earnest solicitation of 
the British commander, the execution was stayed for a 
day on the plea that the board * had not been rightly 
informed of all the circumstances;' but at an informal 
meeting with the president of the board he failed to 
adduce any sufficient reason for a commutation of the 
sentence, and Andr^ was accordingly hanged at Tappan- 
town, 2d October 1780. He was buried near the place 
of execution. A monument to his memory was erected 
in Westminster Abbey by order of the king, and thither 
his remains were conveyed and deposited in 1821. 

See Sargent, Life of 3fajor Andre (1861); Lossing, 
The Two Spies — Nathan Hale and John Andre (1886). 



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